Pittsfield looking to add more outdoor warning sirens

Posted:
Sunday, May 12, 2013 4:57 PM EDT

PITTSFIELD, Ill. (WGEM) -

When severe weather is getting ready to hit your city, you may hear weather sirens warning you to get inside and take cover, but what happens if you don't hear that warning? For some residents in Pittsfield that's the case, and the city is looking to change that.

Farm and Home Supply is one of the many stores on the west side of Pittsfield. However, they're at a disadvantage compared to people in the heart of the city because they can't hear weather sirens if severe weather was to hit the city. It's something Manager Eric Naughton said he'd like to see change.

"I think that would give us the extra seconds that we would need if it became bad and got us real quick. It would give us a little bit more leeway to tell people what to do in not such a panic mode," he said.

Pittsfield Fire Chief Jason White agrees and said a siren needs to be installed as quickly as possible.

"I think it's a huge concern because of the growth of the town going to the West. You get people out there and they're not outside, they're not going to hear the ones in the central area of the town," he said.

Right now, the city has two sirens one in downtown Pittsfield and the other on the south side of town which was installed three years ago.

White said if the city does install a weather siren in the West side of Pittsfield it would look similar to the one in the South side of the city. And that would be a huge benefit for people who live too far away to hear the weather sirens in the city.

For businesses in the western part of the city like Farm and Home, Naughton said it will help not just the businesses, but everyone shopping in those stores.

When it comes in as quick as it does, we want to get everyone notified in here since we do have a lot of people in here during the peak hours of the day.

Alderman Ed Knight says the siren could be installed in as little as two months. He said the city is still deciding where exactly to install the siren.

Knight said there's also talk of installing another siren on the east side of the city near Pittsfield Lake.